John Deere Advertising

[GrantMO]

I'm in the market the next 18 months, hopefully sooner for a compact tractor. After visiting the local JD dealer and looking at the 4000 series I was impressed. One thing I noticed on the back of the 4000 series booklet said it was assembled in Augusta, Georgia. Next it says that "the 4200 through 4600 Tractors were designed and are assembled at our factory in Augusta, Georgia" and the loaders are made in Canada. This implies the tractor itself is all American made and it even says other tractors in the 20-43 hp range "come from some far distant shore....that's not the case with the 4000 series."
Aren't the engines made by Yanmar in Japan or did that change? I know it's almost impossible to find things completely made in America these days but if they are still Yanmar, I think that's a little deceptive. What do you think?

 

[RobS]

Yes Grant, it is hard to find anything completely made in America anymore.

Regarding the JD compacts... The 790 and 990 are designed and built by Yanmar in Japan, to Deere specs. The 4100 is designed by Deere and built by Yanmar in Japan. The 4200-4700 are designed by Deere, built in Augusta with engines from Yanmar in Japan. And yes, loaders and many other implements are built at Deere's Welland, Ontario plant.

Deere and Yanmar have been partners for some time I believe. My 790 is very clearly labelled on the rear as being built by Yanmar in Japan. The advertising material is probably intentionally vague to avoid discouraging any potential buyers.

 

[Wheeldog]

Grant,

I came away with the same impression of that little writeup on the back of the 4000-series brochure. They could just have said that they have an assembly facility in GA, and the loaders are built in Canada and left it at that. But instead they have to throw in that "far distant shore" crap. Who builds the 4100 and the engines for the rest of the 4000 series? - Just some good ol' boys in a plant just West of California someplace?

The 4000-series is excellent overall, but the advertising is a little hypocritical if you ask me.

 

[BobT]

I am a little surprised that these manufacturers continue to be so (intentionally) vaguely misleading. All of them were sued a couple of years back by the US Government for deceptive advertising (you can find the court cases if you search around a little on the Net). They agreed to refrain from that "made in the USA" fluff when the reality was for all practical purposes, that their machines were made in foreign countires. Maybe the govt needs to take another look at their ads ...

I don't think it really matters to the buyer, because the engines and parts are of excellent quality. They don't really fool anybody, except maybe themselves.

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

 

[banjobj]

Deere doesn't have a lock on deceptive advertising, just look at the New Holland Boomer site. It states " Boomer compact tractors are built from the ground up to blast through any job. Assembled at the New Holland plant in Dublin, Georgia " I just got a TC 21 D and it says made in Japan on the serial number tag.

 

[GrantMO]

About 2 months ago I was at the Kubota dealer and drove the L3010, another nice tractor. At the time I was amused that the salesman went out of his way to point out that Kubota was made in Japan and that they made their own engines and the rest of the tractor. Now I can see why they do that when the greens and blues are subtley trying to sell theirs as all-American made. Bob is right, I'm not sure who they're fooling. I guess it doesn't matter too much, they're all good machines, but I want them to shoot straight with me.

 

[Thomas]

Not only tractors but Maytag,Ford,Chevy,P/C's etc..one led to believe its from the USA..no so any more,cheaper aboard to build than ship here and a stamp put on the items plus a well place ad helps..yep thats little deceptive.

Enjoy your tractor quest and I hope what ever you choice arrives earlier than 18 months

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Blu21]

My son always seems to point out that most of his toys are from china,I tried to explain but he had one of those confused looks on his face.Things sure have changed!Tom

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Looks like a play on words to me. The parts are "designed" in the US, "manufactured" overseas then shipped to the US for "assembly" thus giving the illusion of an American made unit. Just my opinion.

Russ

 

[Mike_S]

Rus--I cannot speak for all JD compacts, but the 4200+ series has components that are manufactured in a variety of places, including overseas as well as the U.S. For example, the quality engines are manufactured by Yanmar whereas the front ends are manufactured by Dana in the U.S. and the hydrostatic transmissions are manufactured by Funk in the U.S. My 4400 had problems with the front end and transmission (among other things) and I personally would rather the entire tractor have been manufactured by Yanmar in Japan (like my 955) instead of in Georgia by JD because I feel that my 4400 would have had fewer engineering and quality control issues.